Disturbed Frontman David Draiman Reflects on ‘The Sickness’

The year was 2000 and hard rock and metal was seeing an influx of talented new acts putting their stamp on the genre. One of those bands was Disturbed, who seemingly came out of nowhere and dominated radio within the span of a year. But despite the immense attention heaped on the band's debut album, The Sickness,David Draiman reveals that they weren't exactly an overnight success.

"People think it was like this meteoric rise. It really wasn't," says the vocalist in our exclusive interview (watch above), reflecting on the two or three years they pounded the pavement just trying to garner any sort of attention in their native Chicago.

Draiman says that the perseverance paid off, but they did face struggles from their home city music scene to even trying to push their music at radio once they finally had their label deal and were trying to get songs to the listeners. It wasn't until their third single, "Down With the Sickness," that things really started to take off for the band.

Check out Draiman's full reflection on the rise to success with The Sickness album in the video above. The release celebrated its 15th anniversary earlier this year.

See the Ages of David Draiman and Other Rock Stars in This Birthday Gallery